Expert: Response to Carroll fire 'textbook'

Sunday

Nov 10, 2013 at 12:07 AM

The response to the tanker fire at the Brace West well pad was a textbook example of how local firefighters should tackle emergencies involving oil and natural gas production, said an expert on the topic.

Shane Hoover CantonRep.com staff writer @shooverREP

The response to the tanker fire at the Brace West well pad was a textbook example of how local firefighters should tackle emergencies involving oil and natural gas production, said an expert on the topic.

"A lot of people assume that the fire department is always going to put out fires, and that's not true," said Charles W. Dixon, lead fire-safety instructor for the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program.

More than 1,000 firefighters have taken OOGEEP training since it started 12 years ago. Graduates include 19 firefighters from the Carrollton Fire Department, which led the response at the Brace West fire.

The Sept. 27 blaze involved a tanker truck and two storage tanks containing condensate, a volatile liquid produced along with natural gas. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it started during the routine transfer of condensate, said Derek Smith, Rex Energy's senior director of health, safety and environment.

When firefighters arrived at the pad, not knowing exactly what was burning or the size of the blaze, they stayed back 500 yards and consulted with the company, said Carrollton Fire Chief Tom Mesler. In all, six departments, 16 trucks and 59 firefighters were involved.

Compared to a fire at a traditional well site, "this was bigger, hotter," Mesler said. "There was more fuel to burn."

The company shut-in the two wells to keep the fire from spreading and advised firefighters to let the flames burn down. The well pad is in the middle of a field, far from any structures.

The next morning, firefighters returned to the scene to extinguish the fire.

"Years ago, they may have went in with hoses blaring, if you will," Dixon said. "They didn't. They took time to asses the situation."

That's one of the lessons Dixon teaches during OOGEEP's two-day course, which the industry group provides at no cost to firefighters or their departments.

The classes cover the drilling process and the equipment used in gas and oil production, and includes live-burn exercises with crude oil and the Class B used to extinguish hydrocarbon fires.

"Foam can be pretty expensive and a lot of times fire departments don't get an opportunity to apply or practice that," Dixon said.

At the end of the course, the departments get some Class B foam to take home.

Dixon said he has reviewed photos of the Carroll County fire and spoken to participants in the response.

"It was a successful situation that everyone went home safe," he said.

In the "very rare and unlikely occurrence" of a well blow-out, the response would be handled by specialists with a company like Wild Well Control or Boots & Coots, Dixon said. "The local fire department would be there for support services only."

The fire departments at the Brace West pad did a fine job, and Rex would like to do more training with local emergency responders next year, perhaps regarding wild wells, Smith said.

The company is also open to talking about equipment needs. A couple of years ago, Rex gave the Carroll County Volunteer Fire Department $10,000 to buy gear.

"Hopefully, if there's a need, they feel that they can contact and talk to us about it," Smith said.

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